Asian bourses started the trading session positive across the board as the region shrugs off the negative lead from Wall Street, where lingering inflationary concerns dragged sentiment.
In the U.S. session, price action was driven by inflation concerns, with long-duration assets suffering the most. While some peripheral G10 banks, such as the BoE and BoC, have entered taper mode, chants are growing louder now for the ECB and the Fed to join in. On Wednesday, the April FOMC Minutes will be scrutinised to gain further insight into the Fed’s path to quantitative easing tapering, bringing some pressure to the equity markets. In the week ahead, U.S. retailer earnings reports will focus on assessing the consumer’s current situation as stimulus checks tailwinds begin to fade. The regional Fed surveys and Fed policymakers will attract attention in a week, slightly lacking tier 1 U.S. data.
